Change
by Jaiaelle
Summary: Their relationship was about to change. Pete/Claudia


_Author's Note: This is my first Warehouse 13 fanfiction and I have feeling it won't be so warmly received. However you may feel about this pairing, I ask that you refrain from flaming. If you don't like it, that's fine. Positive feedback and comments are most welcome and encouraged! Thank you!_

_**Change**_

Every time he went on a mission, the sharp jabs of pain to her heart increased. Every time he said goodbye, one more time, she feared that he wouldn't return to say hello again. But every time he returned, relief flooded her being, as his hand contacted hers, with a "mission went well" dying away on his lips. He would then commence to drop in a chair beside her, relating every aspect of the mission to her, unaware of the flutterings created by her heart by simply being in his presence. With a plastered on a smile, she would manage to put in appropriate amounts of "dude!" and "awesome!" so as not to garner any suspicion to herself. _Someone_ had, however, noticed the crooked smile that crossed her face when she gazed at him, in moments when she believed no would see her. With knowing eyes, and a heart that understood what it was like to love, Myka held the secret to her chest, vowing to keep Claudia's unprofessed feelings to herself. Pete never had to know, unless Claudia chose to tell him.

At the time that Myka discovered Claudia's feelings for Pete, it had been almost a year since the young woman had joined the team and Pete had promised that he would get her an ice cream cake for the celebration. Artie, being Artie, didn't understand the need to have a semi-party but decided to go along with it, pretending as if his family's (because, yes, they were a family) happiness didn't mean everything to him. Clapping her hands together joyfully, Claudia had kissed Artie's grizzled cheek before wrapping her arms around Pete in a big hug. Rather abruptly, she pulled back, a blush creeping into her cheeks. Muttering an excuse about a Warehouse item needing repairing, she fled the room, leaving Pete and Artie with puzzled expressions on their face.

"Well," said Artie, slapping his hands to his thighs as he stood. "I better go supervise whatever she's doing."

"Artie, wait!" called out Myka, knowing that Claudia really needed some time alone. "We have a mission to go on. You haven't briefed us."

Though they weren't scheduled to leave for a few hours, as Mrs. Frederick was polishing the details, Artie plopped back down in the chair, ready to explain the mission to them.

Casting a sidelong glance Myka's way, Pete wondered what his partner's deal was. Sure, she liked to be thorough but her request had seemed rather off to him. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided he would ask her about it later, tuning into Artie's speech and storing what the older man was saying away in his brain.

Several hours later, Pete and Myka were ready to leave, when Claudia came careening around a corner at a break neck pace. "Hey guys," she gasped, clearly out of breath from her mad dash. "Good luck out there."

Frowning, Pete said, "Uh, good luck to you, here. I mean, you know, good luck with helping us to figure out whatever mystery we stumble across."

Beaming, she saluted, then grimaced at the action. "Thanks…uh…see you later!" Then spinning on her heel, she was gone.

The partners watched her go before leaving themselves. "What's up with Claudia?" Pete asked Myka, thinking that, as a woman, Myka might better understand the younger woman's behavior.

Feigning ignorance, Myka opened the driver's side, glad that Pete was momentarily distracted and hadn't lunged to be in control of the steering wheel, as he usually did. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Pete said, taking the passenger's side without blinking. "That lately, she's always there to wish is good luck and to say goodbye before we leave on a mission. And that wouldn't be so weird if it didn't feel so awkward. I miss the old spunky Claudia, who was always comfortable around me."

Glancing at Pete's face, Myka saw that Pete was really upset about the Claudia situation. Wondering if Claudia's feelings were shared by Pete, Myka jutted out her bottom lip. As they drove on, they lapsed into silence, as Myka considered the thougt. Could it be possible that Pete cared for Claudia as more than a friend? And, if so, how might she get him to reveal his feelings to her?

- - - - - -

Things had gone bad. Real bad.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Claudia stared hard at the Farnsworth's screen, willing it to light back up so she could see Pete's face again, so she would know that he was alright. When Artie's voice sounded out behind her, she almost dropped the device to the floor. Collecting her wits, she snapped the thing shut. "What did you say?"

Arching an eyebrow at her, a silent reprimand in his eye for not paying attention, Artie nodded at the book in his hands. "This says that the artifact was once -"

Before he could finish, the Farnsworth buzzed to life, Myka's face filling the small screen. "Guys? Are you there?"

Heart in her throat, Claudia gingerly picked up the device, hoping that Pete would soon appear beside his partner. "We're here," she responded, her voice scratchy.

"Okay, so we've got things mostly under control here. But -" Myka suddenly stopped talking as Pete's voice overrode hers. "We have to go. We'll call you back as soon as we…deal with this."

Deal with what? Claudia wanted to ask but the question remained locked in her mind. At least Pete was okay. Closing the Farnsworth, she gave Artie a helpless shrug then jogged to his side when he gestured at her with the book. "Alright, alright, here I come."

- - - - - -

His whole body burned. Inside out. Fingernails scraping against the floor, he sat up, desperately looking around for Myka. When he spotted her, his stomach dropped. Using his hand to pull and his feet to propel, he moved to her side, lifting her head and placing it in his lap. "Myka?"

At the sound of her name, she stirred. Then, slowly, her eyelids fluttered open. When her eyes met his, she smiled. "Looks like we're still alive," she murmured.

"As always," he joked. "Somehow we are."

Sitting up, and shaking her head as if to clear the cobwebs, she surveyed the area. "I feel awful. As if I've been burned on the outside and the inside. But there are no burn marks on my skin."

Observing both her skin and his, Pete shook his head. "No but it sure hurts as bad as any sunburn I've ever gotten. Worse, actually."

"A thousand times worse," she agree, standing on shaky legs. "Where's the Farnsworth? We have to let Claudia know we're okay."

In the middle of reaching for the item in question, which had ended up several feet above where Myka's head had been, Pete paused. "Don't you mean Claudia _and_ Artie?"

Blinking several times, she nodded quickly. "Of course that's what I meant."

"But that's not what you said," he replied, his eyes narrowing. "Why would Claudia be more worried about us then Artie?"

Shaking her head, Myka crossed the short space and snatched up the device. "I meant to say Claudia and Artie. It was just a slip of the tongue. Now, I'm going to call them and you use your vibes to figure out what happened to the artifact."

Grunting, he turned his thoughts inward while keeping an eye on her. After several minutes, which were punctuated by Myka's conversation with Artie and Claudia, it came to him. "Myka, we have to go. Now."

A question on her lips, Myka followed him out of the building, knowing that Pete knew what he was doing but still needing the necessary information to complete the task. He was moving too fast and by the time she had caught up with him, he was already down. Professional, almost to a fault, she knelt down and checked his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Letting out a breath, she looked up to see the perp. Eyes narrowed into slits, she began the chase, knowing that she would come out victorious because she had to. Minutes later, it was over. The man, in his late fifties, balding, with jagged teeth, had been arrested and Myka had confiscated the artifact. Sprinting back to Pete, she fell on her knees at his side, taking her hand in hers. "It's going to be okay Pete."

"Oookay?" he gurgled.

Pleased that he was still conscious, Myka leaned over him, tears in her eyes. "I promise you. We'll get you to a hospital and you'll…you'll be okay."

His eyes opened and shut, as he struggled to stay awake. "Would you tell Claudia…tell her…I'm so going to beat her next time we play Need for Speed." His eyes went blank for a minute before he refocused on her face. "And tell her that I…that I…"

It became even harder to fight the tears at that point. She had found out that Pete did reciprocate Claudia's feelings and it had only taken him almost dying (Myka hoped) to admit it to her and, possibly, to himself. "I'll tell her."

- - - - - -

A frantic Claudia raced through the halls of the hospital, sneakers screeching on the linoleum floor. Once she came to the room, she darted in, almost surprised to see Pete sitting in his bed. Feeling faint, she wobbled on her feet, Myka suddenly beside her, helping her to stand. "I thought…the message you left…"

Offering Claudia a small, apologetic smile, Myka led Claudia to a bed. "It appeared much worse when I left you that message." Once Claudia was seated, Myka excused herself from the room. "I'm going to, uh, ah, give Artie my report. Out in the hallway. It will probably take awhile."

Noting the encouragement in Myka's eyes, Pete shifted in his hospital bed, eliciting a cry of concern from Claudia. "Don't move too much," she told him. "You could exacerbate the injuries you've already sustained."

He couldn't help but smile at her words. "I'm going to be fine Claudia. You don't need to worry."

Standing, the petite girl started to pace beside his bed. "But I do. I do worry, all the time. I can't help it. When you leave, I-" Whatever she was going to say was cut short by his right hand, the fingers of which had circled her wrist. At his touch, she started, then felt her heart rate begin to increase.

"I'm glad that I have someone who cares so much," he told her, his tone serious.

In his eyes, she saw what he felt and she found that she was speechless, which didn't happen too often.

Staring into her eyes, he drew her closer to him. "I don't know how to explain it, but…being around you, it just feels right."

Her face was only inches from his and, though she had not thought it possible, her rate seemed to increase again. "I…yeah. It feels right."

With a smile on his face, he brought up his left hand, rubbing against her cheek before moving it to the back of her head. Once there, he helped guide her lips to his, kissing her softly. She responded by deepening the kiss and bringing both her hands to rest against his chest. When they pulled back, both feeling rather bashful. Grinning, Pete said, "When I get out this hospital bed, you know what the first thing I'm going to do is?"

"What's that?"

"Beat you at Need for Speed."

Eyebrows raising at his challenge, Claudia frowned. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Oh, you'll see! Try and succeed, my frien- my Claudia."

Almost melting at the sentiment, she curled her fingers around his hand. "I don't think so."

They were still arguing back and forth like that when Artie and Myka entered the room. Chuckling, Artie commented, "Some things never change."

But, when her eyes landed on Claudia and Pete's joined hands, she had to disagree.

Sometimes, things did change.

_End._


End file.
